Dekigokoro (1933)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Tadao Ikeda (adaptation)
Yasujiro Ozu (idea)

Release Date:

7 September 1933 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Two Tokyo co-workers come across a destitute young lady in search of a place to live.

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Takeshi Sakamoto	...	Kihachi
Nobuko Fushimi	...	Harue
Den Obinata	...	Jiro
Chôko Iida	...	Otome
Tomio Aoki	...	Tomio (as Tokkankozo)
Reiko Tani	...	Barber
Seiji Nishimura
Seiichi Kato
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chishû Ryû	...	Man on boat (uncredited)
Hideo Sugawara	...	Boy Taunting Tomio (uncredited)

Directed by
Yasujiro Ozu

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tadao Ikeda		adaptation
Yasujiro Ozu		idea (as James Maki)

Cinematography by
Hideo Shigehara
Shojiro Sugimoto

Film Editing by
Kazuo Ishikawa

Production Companies

• Shôchiku Eiga

Distributors

• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (as Eclipse from the Criterion Collection)

Also Known As:

Passing Fancy

Runtime:

100 min (24 fps)

Country:

Japan

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ikite wa mita keredo - Ozu Yasujirô den (1983)

Well acted and directed....though not all that interesting

Yasujiro Ozu is an extremely well respected film director. While not as famous today as his countryman, Kurosawa, among those who are fans of Japanese cinema, he is practically a god. While I have loved many of his films due to their amazing artistry and great direction, I also think that overall, many of his films are a tad overrated. In other words, because SOME films are near-perfect classics (such as both versions of FLOATING WEEDS or my favorite, LATE SPRING), people often tend to see ALL of his films as having the same quality. This is true of all the great directors, as there are a devoted group of followers that see every film as great--even if the films have obvious flaws or were made before the directors learned and perfected their craft.

I mention all this because although PASSING FANCY is a very good film, it's far from great--despite some amazingly positive reviews. While it's true that the Japanese film industry didn't switch to sound until very, very late compared to Western countries, shouldn't this be considered when giving out 10s to these silents? In other words, shouldn't technical merit be considered when reviewing a film? As such, I'd have to knock a point off the film. In addition, the film's plot is amazingly scant and a bit too ordinary.

Now in Ozu's defense, I must say that when it comes to the ordinary, nobody does it better. Here we have the story of a hard-drinking blue collar man and his young son and there's not a lot of excitement or action...but it STILL engages the audience due to his nice touch and excellent acting. In addition, the ending is very sweet and well done--even if nothing is exactly resolved in this story of very mundane individuals.

Well done and worth seeing but not exactly magical.